


Seasonal Feathers

by Lionel_Hoshi_03



Category: BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Fluff, Folktale-based, Just be careful if you're not good with blood, Self-harm?? Sort of?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-14
Updated: 2019-01-04
Packaged: 2019-09-18 03:21:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16987161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lionel_Hoshi_03/pseuds/Lionel_Hoshi_03
Summary: legit just watch the music video for the song Seasonal Feathers and ur gonna understand





	1. A Love by Fate

Snow blanketed the mountaintops in deep layers. Raging winds stirred up a flurry, making Tae squint to see past her arm’s length. Ice had made its home within and upon her clothes since approaching the base of the mountains. It wouldn’t be long until she would arrive back at her village. At least, that was what she tried to tell herself. The pack of supplies was making her shoulders scream over the wails of her aching feet. Or maybe nothing hurt in the first place. 

Tae crested over the final hill and looked longingly at a mound, just big enough to curl into and hide from the minor storm. She would’ve stopped if not for a distant cry. A crane? A human? She trudged further until the flapping of wings could be seen. Indeed, it was a crane caught in a hunter’s trap by the leg. 

“Poor thing,” Tae murmured. She knelt beside the frantic bird, earning herself a peck on her hand. She hissed and quickly worked to undo the trap before she could get herself another injury. Her hands were clumsy with the rope. The only luck she had here was the calming of the crane. It shook its leg until the trap fell uselessly to the ground, regarded Tae with a nudge of its head, and took off to the sky.

The crane let out a cry as it circled overhead. Tae smiled and watched as it disappeared. 

Beautiful.

~~~~~~~~~

Some days later at the same time, Tae begins cooking dinner at the hearth. A loud knock sounds from the door - a strange occurrence in a desolate village. Tae stands, brushing off the dust from her clothes, and makes for the door two rooms over.

A maiden dressed in white awaits her. She beams upon seeing Tae’s shocked face, bright blue eyes sparkling.

“Good evening,” greets the stunning stranger. “My name is Saaya Yamabuki, and from today on, I will be your wife.”

“Okay.”

Saaya’s eyes widen a fraction. It’s the only giveaway that she hadn’t expected the answer Tae gave. “Then, if I may?”

Tae nods, shutting the door behind Saaya. “I’m Tae Hanazono. I’m okay with serving you, but are you sure you want to marry me?”

“Of course.”

“I don’t have any money. Why do you want to?”

Saaya hums, a slight blush creeping over her cheeks, and takes Tae’s hand. “I love you. I don’t care if you have money or not. I’ll love you regardless.”

Tae raises a brow as she proceeds to lead Saaya back to the hearth. It’s odd, she knows. But she’ll let this situation humor her for a while more. Saaya must have family to go back to soon. At least Tae can work things out properly then. Explain that there must be some sort of misunderstanding, let them know that Saaya is free to come over if she feels like it, decline the marriage even if it is rather tempting. She doesn’t want this to be a mistake.

Saaya...does realize they’re both girls as well, doesn’t she?

Tae glances Saaya’s way briefly right when they come up to the final door. The maiden doesn’t seem the slightest bit fazed by any of this. She really truly seems happy with the way things are though slight. Tae slides the door open.

Steam from the pot rises, hitting the roof, and sliding along until it reaches the open sky. Saaya inhales deeply and sighs, content. She skips along the cold wooden floor to the edge of the lanai. She briefly looks up to the cloudy night sky, snow softly falling in front of her.

Tae sits close to the hearth and raises her hand to beckon Saaya away from the cold but stops short when Saaya swiftly turns around.

“Thank you for all this.”

Tae slowly reels back. It’s a pleasant surprise though Tae doesn’t fully understand what Saaya is thanking her for. All that Tae can think to focus on is how pretty Saaya seems when she smiles.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Winter passed, though it still snows. Saaya leans against Tae’s chest, tucking her head beneath her wife’s chin. She relishes in the warmth both from the hearth and Tae. Tae, for some reason, always feels so warm no matter the temperature. It’s fitting in a way.

“It was snowing just like this when we met,” Saaya mutters as she snuggles closer if only to chase away the cold nipping at her skin from beneath her clothes. Tae grunts in affirmation. Her eyes travel low to follow Saaya’s movements in her arms and Saaya presses closer until she begins to hum then sing. Tae doesn’t recognize the song, though how could she when there was no one else to teach her before. She shuts her eyes, letting the low and slightly off-key lyrics wash over her. 

Somewhere above, an owl joins in. Saaya lifts her head and pauses to listen. Only then does Tae comment, “You have a beautiful voice.”

A sharp intake of breath accompanied with the reddening of cheeks follows the words. Saaya’s heart races faster beside Tae’s own.

“If I ever lost this voice, would you still love me?” Saaya tentatively asks in no more than a whisper, a breathless release of her feelings.

Tae chuckles and wraps Saaya’s tender hand with her own rough one. “Of course.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spring passes, and it no longer snows. The days it finally begun to warm in the sleepy town, Saaya had run outside, excited. She’d wake Tae up in the morning for breakfast and work and then on a few occasions, to view the cherry blossoms that would vanish within a week or two. 

“O-Tae!” Saaya called out, shaking Tae’s body from beneath the covers. 

“Saaya…”

“O-Tae!” The pout Saaya made was audible in her tone. “You need to eat and start work for the day.”

“Yeah… In a short while…”

“O-Tae!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this took so long :') Upon school and sickness and holidays I've just been setting aside writing for sleep. I'm gonna try get everything out soon!!!! Look forward to SayoTsugu and lots of YukiLisa.

Tae seems more tired than usual, though it may just be Saaya’s imagination. She walks with her head lowered and she’s definitely toppled over some supplies before meeting Saaya outside. Tae’s grip on Saaya’s hand is loose, a deadweight between them, but her hand is as warm as ever and it tightens just a little bit as they walk. It’s all the comfort that Saaya can have.

The sun is already wide awake and beating down on the fresh crops that are just about  
ready for harvest. Saaya deeply inhales, smiling. She hadn’t expected for life to be so comfortable and exciting when she first arrived. Maybe it’s the way Tae handles everything or some unknown preference that Saaya has only now realized. It’s nice.

“Should we split the rows down the middle?” Tae poses the question slowly in a husky tone. Saaya bites her lip before nodding because wow, only in bed does she ever sound like that.

Within a few hours into the day, they’ve about finished two rows of crops. Saaya glances over now and then when she and Tae are close and anxiously works faster when they’re apart. Maybe it’s partially because she likes having Tae near though… It was the main reason initially until Saaya started to hear heavy breathing and she noticed how Tae was slowing down ever so slightly. Now it’s to make sure that Tae doesn’t fall face-first into the bushes and hurt herself.

Basket full, Saaya calls out to Tae some distance away, “Darling, I’m going to get ano-.. Tae!?”

She had tried to meet Saaya’s eyes when Saaya began talking but once she achieved that, she broke contact. Tae swiftly hunched over, coughing harshly until blood poured out onto her hands. Saaya remains frozen for a moment, eyes wide as she watches the scene unfold. A cold would’ve been fine but this… What is this? 

Saaya stumbles to Tae and takes her hands. Her lips form a thin line as her thoughts race. They’ll need medicine if this sickness is even curable but the money to get that medicine will be expensive. If Saaya recalls correctly, it would take them years. She sucks in a breath. This is a dilemma. First things first, she lifts Tae up onto her feet and helps her back inside. Tae may need medicine but with lots of rest, she could at least have a chance of healing on her own. Just a little.

Saaya slides open the door of the bedroom and lays Tae down onto the soft nest of sheets that they both consider their bed, gently - hopefully - plopping her to the pillows and blankets. 

“I’m sorry,” is all Tae mumbles when Saaya leaves, shutting the door softly behind her.

Sighing, Saaya heads right towards the room meant for her. She can’t do anything about the crops. If she thinks hard about it, she wouldn’t be able to travel to sell them in the first place. There’s no way she would find the strength in her to lug everything to the town over. So she’ll get the medicine in a way she knows how.

The dust has compiled on the loom while Saaya wasn’t looking, so it seems. She takes a tentative seat in front of it and blows, coughing and waving away the stirred dust. Just a little. Just once. Saaya lets the skin on her arm morph. Tanned and smooth flesh starts to sprout tufts of feathers, white as snow. Her arm thins and her hand shrinks until all that’s left is a wing. 

Taking a sharp breath, Saaya plucks away her freedom to fly.

~~~~~~~~~~

At the end of the week, Saaya’s wings reach their limit, and their feathers remain as the fabric her hands bled to make. Just a little more, she chants to herself as she kneels at Tae’s side. It’s only been a week and Tae… Saaya grips her wife’s hand tighter.

“Saaya,” Tae croaks. Her eyes, half-lidded, fall to their joined hands and she sighs, running her thumb over Saaya’s bloodied bandages. “Your hand…”

“Ahaha, I know.” Saaya grits her teeth as she forces a smile and a lie. “I hadn’t realized that farmwork would take a toll like this. I’m afraid they’ll be rather ugly to look at for some time.”

Tae lets out a hum and kisses Saaya’s knuckles, her muscles trembling at the exertion. “Your hands are beautiful.”

Saaya isn’t sure why she asks. Maybe it’s just something in the heat of the moment or maybe her racing thoughts need some comfort that only Tae can provide. Still, she whispers it and Tae hears her out in full.

“If… If I didn’t have these ‘beautiful’ hands, would you still love me?”

“Of course.”

Nodding silently, Saaya picks up the fabric she’d finished an hour ago and heads outside for a merchant, biting her lip and trying not to cry more than she has.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Upon meeting the merchant, a short old man with a kind aura to his smiling face, Saaya stands straighter. If this works out well, she can get Tae the medicine now. Ha… Even in a case like this, maybe that’s asking for too much.

“Why, hello, young lady,” greets the merchant. “What are you looking to purchase?”

“Actually, I’d like to sell something.” Now or never, Saaya. She holds out an armful of pure white fabric, careful not to let the soaked parts of her hands touch it. “It’s made of the feathers of a crane.”

~~~~~~~~~~

About a month or two later, Tae stands for the first time in a few weeks. She has been able to get up only so many times willingly just because she could. She stumbles across the bedroom, searching for Saaya who’s suddenly gone in the dead of night. Tae would’ve passed the room she’d built in their first month together if it weren’t for the clatter of something small hitting the floor. 

There’s a promise Tae made about that room. Despite making it, she’s not allowed to ever go inside. Saaya begged her to keep that promise for as long as they were together. Tae respected that but now that there seems to be a big goddamn bird’s silhouette flitting about the room, maybe that promise will have to be broken just this once.

Candlelight is coming through the room so Saaya has to have been there earlier. Tae picks up the pace of her shuffling until she pulls back the door to see Saaya where the bird once was, plucking feathers from her wrist. She sharply inhales at the sight of her wife’s bleeding body and immediately goes into a coughing fit at the exertion. She crumples to the ground as Saaya lifts her head and rushes to Tae’s side.

“You… Tae… Tae…”

Tae nods once the fit ceases. She takes Saaya’s hands, feeling much weaker than before. “I know.”

“Are you okay? Why did you leave the bed?” Saaya wraps her arms around Tae’s waist in some futile attempt to bring her back to the bedroom. Saaya hisses at the sharp pain radiating from her body. She chokes out a whimper and gives up. “Why did you have to open the door?”

Tae presses her head against Saaya’s chest, her own type of indication that she can’t bring herself to speak. 

“If I were no longer human, would you still love me?”

Tae is silent for a while and each second that she is, Saaya’s heart sheds its own pieces like feathers. 

“Of course,” is the final reply, the final phrase. The season’s passed. Tae’s dying breath fills the empty room and overtakes the scent of blood. Saaya bows her head in farewell. At some point while reapplying her bandages, she begins to cry. 

Even now, she’s so useless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so uh i rushed it but like always if i find it in myself to go back to it i will 
> 
> for now i think i need another nap...


End file.
